This week the T.Y.s expect to receive their Junior Cert. results on Wednesday and we wish them all the best, I’m sure they will acquit themselves very well. In the meantime they will have enjoyed an outing to Tramore for surfing.

They are already in full swing, having begun many of the modules which may be new to them, such as engineering, first aid and self defence.

We would also like to remind anyone interested in joining the girls in the Intel programme for retired people to learn new computer skills to make sure they have booked their place for the course beginning on September 19th. Please contact the school at 058 41464.

Sports.

Once again the best of luck to Ms. Fiona Rocheford in next Sunday’s All Ireland Camogie Final when she will play for Wexford against Cork.

Mrs Ashe has been meeting up with our new first and was delighted to find so many enthusiastic footballers. Training for hockey begins on Monday and camogie training will begin shortly.

“Mind Matters”, Comhairle na nOg.

I’m fairly sure that anyone reading this is aware of the stigma attached to mental health issues.

I heard a very good point being raised while attending the unveiling of Comhairle na nOg’s video “Mind Matters” in the Park Hotel. One man in attendance mentioned that, were he to enter the room whilst on crutches, immediately people would invite him to sit down and “take care of himself”. Yet when it comes to mental, rather than physical, health we are not so clued in.

Along with students from the Ard Scoil, the C.B.S. and St. Augustine’s, teachers, members of the Co.Council, social workers and others were invited by Comhairle na nOg to attend the first showing of “Mind Matters”. The aim of the Comhairle in showing and distributing this video was to educate young people and those involved in their lives about mental health and its importance, and to aid in the banishment of the stigma associated with mental health problems.

“Mind Matters” was a short video, only about fifteen minutes long, and featured inputs by many local people, as well as more well-known personalities such as Dublin band Aslan. Suicide is now the biggest killer of young people in Ireland, and as I mentioned before, the central aim of Comhairle na nOg’s video was to show young people that there was no shame in admitting to a mental health problem; it can strike at any one of us at any time, and neither should any of us be ashamed to seek help should we be unfortunate enough to suffer from depression or thoughts of suicide.

A lot of hard work was put into the production and distribution of this video. As well as organising various interviews, editing and research had to be conducted and a better job couldn’t have been done! “Mind Matters” was a created by young people, for young people and the Comhairle succeeded completely in getting their point across.

I, and I’m sure everyone else in attendance, would like to congratulate Comhairle na nOg on a job very well done. In case anybody would like to take a video for themselves, it can be found here: